This is a compilation of our life around our Coronado 25 foot sailboat. Sometimes factual, sometimes humourous, always about sailing or the sailboat, or marinas and yacht clubs. There will be a nautical theme for sure.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Garbage at sea....

This was when I was in the navy, procedure has changed by now, trust me.

All the ships departments would bring their garbage to the quarterdeck at dusk, hold the bags over the side and rip them open and then just drop everything (This was in the early eighties). Then we got green. We installed a couple of trash compactors. Then each department would for a week at a time, supply crew members to sort the garbage, paper/cardboard in one pile, organics in another. Wood would get tossed and glass would be smashed on the ships side and dumped overboard.

Well, the remaniing sorted trash would then be compacted...........then thrown over the side.

I am the king of weak stomachs, so most of my duty time there was spent with my head hanging over the side puking while the remains of feminine hygiene products lay at my feet and yes on one miserable occasion, draped across my forearm. (I lost it there and it almost cost me my career).

Now it is all sorted, compacted and stored. Nothing goes over the side, nothing. The ass end of the ship stinks.....Allan

I spent 6 years in the US Navy and yes, a lot of things went over the side that shouldn't have. On submarines ALL the trash and garbage was carefully weighted so it sank. I know, it still went over the side, or should I say, out the TDU, trash disposal unit; which was nothing more than a vertical torpedo tube, but at least it sank to the bottom instead of littering the surface.The oceans are vast, but just like land, if we don't take care of them they will look just like land ... dirty and cluttered